Traffic guide



H. J. SMITH TRAFFLC GUlDE 5 sheets-sheet 1 Original Filed Apr. 6, 1920 awuewtoz Apr. 3, 1923. 1,450,616

. H. J. SMITH TRAFFIC GUIDE Original Filed Apr. 6, 1920 .5 sheets-sheet 2 i I v avwmtoz $201? M0050 JM/ 77/ 51 313 A l flaw/"M V Apr. 3; 1923."

H. J. SMITH TRAFFIC GUIDE Original Filed Apr. 6, 1920 oooooooooo gnoewboz Patented Apr. 3, 1923..

name STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAZOR JUDSON SMITH, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLARD REID, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TRAFFIC GUIDE.

Application filed April 6, 1920, Serial No. 371,719. Renewed October 10, 1922. Serial No. 593,652.

T all whom it may concern? Be it known that I, HAZOR J UDSON SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Springfield, Hampden County, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTrafiic Guides,

of which the following is a specificatiom.

reference being made to the accompanying three sheets of drawings, forming a part hereof.

The improvements are related to trafiic guides to be attached to the rear end of an automobile to signal to the car behind the regulation and direction of proposed travel of the car ahead, and are concerned more particularlyto the means of operation of the signals and the control of the information regulated thereby.

A; further object of the invention is to provide intelligent signals to the car hehind, which may be read in the day or night. In the application of my invention which I have chosen to illustrate and describe I have adapted the device to be operated by the difference in pressure between the atmosphere and the pressure existing in the carburetor manifold when the gas engine is running. This differential of pressure is sufficient to operate a signaling device of the class described under all conditions. It will be perfectly obvious that these signals canbe operatedmechanically or electrically and I wish it distinctly understood that my.

traflic guide herein illustrated and described is in only one of many forms in which I desire to construct it and any changes or modifications may be made without departing from the salient features of my invention.

Having thus set forth the objects of my invention I will now describe an embodiment thereof.

Figure I illustrates my traffic guide as seen mounted on back' of an automobile. The semaphore indicating the car is about to-turn to the right.

. Figure II is a sectional elevation at right angles to view Figure I lines 22 Figure I.

Figure III is a back View in part section with the license plate and tail light removed; a Figure IV illustrates the operating end of my device attached to the steering post directly under the hand wheel of an automobile.

by the operating levers, along line 66 5 Figure IV.

Figure VII illustrates the slides and, holder plate from above.

Figure VIII shows perforation of plate moving with Left semaphore.

Figure IX shows perforation of plate moving with Right semaphore.

Figure X shows perforations of face or fixed plate.

In the carrying out of my invention I em- 0 ploy a housing 11 adapted for mounting on the rear of an automobile fitted with means I for attaching license plate, tail light, and provided with two semaphore arms 12 and 13. Arm 12 is adapted to be raised point- 7 ing only to the right. Arm 13 adapted to be raised point-ing only to the left. When both arms are raised the position is the regulation Stop signal: one pointing to the right, the other pointing to the left.

' In the housing 11 I provide two cylinders 14 and 15 each provided with a piston and connected to movably operate the semaphore arms 12 and 13 respectively. The piston 16 operates in cylinder 14 and is provided with stem 17 slidably mounted in bearing 18. This piston is held in its highest vertical position normally by the tension spring 19.

Through connecting rod 20, rocker. arm

"21, any motion of the piston'16 is transmitted to the semaphore arm 12 as will be readily understood. Semaphore 13 is operated in the same way through piston operating in cylinder 15 connecting rod 22 and rocker arm 23. Attached to the steering post immediately below the hand wheel and, within reach of the fingers of the hand oil the wheel, is a the signals.

In these cylinders I provide a suction port 37 (see enlarged section Figure 6) which is connected by means of tubing 38 (see Figure 4) to the carburetor manifold (not shown) in any convenient manner. In valve cylinder 39, I provide a. port 41 connectedto operating cylinder 15 by means of tubing 43. In valve cylinder 40 I provide a port 42 connected to operating cylinder 16 by means of tubing 44. By raising the finger lever 34, the piston 32 may be moved outwardly until the port 42 is opened and the suction from the carburetor manifold exhausts the air from the cylinder 14, the piston 16 being forced down by atmospheric pressure against the tension of spring 19 and the semaphore 12 is-raised indicating that the car is to turn to the right. It will be readily understood without further description that the finger lever 33 operates through a similar chain of mechanism the semaphore 13 which indicates that the car is to turn to the left, and by pressing both the finger levers upward that both semaphore arms will be raised in a horizontal position. Upon release of the spring actuated finger levers the valves are closed and spring 19 returns the piston to the normal position with the semaphore arms in verticalposition by reason of the fact that the ports 41 and 42 are exposed to the atmosphere through the breather port 50 in the normal position.

It will be observed that each piston is provided with a leak 05 vent and that the pistons are so designed that they, by their position either connect the operating cylinders of the signal direct to the suction manifold or to the open air. 4

Below the operating cylinders 14 and 15 I provide a casing 50 and two slides 51 and 52 adapted to reciprocate. In each of the slides and in the casing I provide a series of holes, as will be readily'understood by referring particularly to Figures 78- 9-10.

Pivotedly mounted in the main housing at I provide a rocker 61 adapted on one end to contact with the roller block 62 on the stem 17. The opposite end of the rocker arm 61 is adapted to engage a lug 64 of the slide. As will be readily understood when the piston 16 is forced downward by atmospheric pressure the roller block 62 comes in contact with the end of lever 61 and rocks the lever thereby moving the slide in proper direction.

The light 81 is connected in suitable circuit with a switch 82 which is actuated by the movement of either piston 16 or 56 when the roller block 62 is carried away from the contact lever closing the circuit. This light flashes upon movement of the signals and. shines through the holes spelling the words Right, Left, or Stop.

, The tail light 71 is connected to the cus tomary circuit and is controlled independently of the signalling device from the cowl. An aperture in the bottom of the housing of the tail light receptacl provides for throwing the white light of the tail lamp on the license tag.

As previously described the operation of the pistons 16 and 56 actuate the right and left semaphores respectively and simultaneously with this movement the slides 50 and 51 are moved separately, one at a time or simultaneously as desired. These slides are perforated in such a manner that when certain combinations of the holes in the slides coincide with the holes in the casing or face plate the light from the lamp 81 within the casing will shine through and spell Right or Left or Stop signalling to the car behind the proposed line of traflic. There are four positions. Under ordinary conditions the notice to the car behind will be blind or unlighted. The second position is when the right semaphore is operated, one slide moving to the left registering the holes in the slide with a similar set of holes in the casing so that the word Right appears. The third position is when the left semaphore is operated, the second slide moving to the right registering the holes in the slide with a similar set of holes in the casing and the word Left appears. The fourth position is when both semaphores are operated, the first slide moving to the left and the second slide is moved to the right registering a set of holes in each slide with similar set in the casing when the word Stop appears. It will be readily understood that any combination of letters may be worked out in this manner by locating the holes in the two slides in proper relative position to each other and to the master set of holes in the casing. The novelty being the operation of the slides to perform the mechanic-a1 formation of the letters desired when the light rays show through and illuminate the word which flashes the signal to the car behind.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire. to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a signal device of the class described two semaphore arms each mechanically connected toa. reciprocating perforated plate, a fixed perforated plate superinforced over the two reciprocating perforated plates, the perforations in the three plates so arranged that when either or both semaphores are operated the holes in the three plates are brought into registry.

2. In a signalling device of the class described; in combination two semaphores op erated by pneumatic pistons; three perforated plates; one stationary and two reciprocatingly mounted, one behind the other,

and each connected mechanically to one of the before mentioned semaphores; means sponding perforated plate.

3. In a signalling device of the class described; in combination two semaphores operated by pneumatic pistons, three perforated'plates, one stationary and two reciprocatingly mounted, one behind the other, and each connected mechanically to one of the before mentioned semaphores, and means operated by pressure differential to reciprocate the plates and raise the semaphores whereby the perforations in the three plates are brought into registryspelling a predetermined name.

4.111 a signalling device of the class described, in combination two semaphores op erated by pneumatic pistons; three perforated plates, one stationary and two reciprocatingly mounted, one behind the other, and each connected mechanically to one of the before mentioned semaphores, whereby the holes in the three plates are brought into registry by the reciprocation of either or both the movable plates.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of March, 1920.

,HAZOR JUDSON SMITH.

Witnesses:v

G. A. PENNER, WILLARD REID, 

